It was time to make the calendula salve. I gathered the ingredients – homemade calendula oil, beeswax, unrefined shea butter, and essential lavender oil. I also needed a water bath, a spatula and tins for the finished product.

I started by weighing out the beeswax and the shea butter. The recipe calls for 1 oz. beeswax and 0.5 oz. of shea butter for every 8 oz. of oil. I had 12 oz. of oil and adjusted the amounts of the other ingredients accordingly. I melted the beeswax and the shea butter in a water bath and then added the calendula oil.

Once it was all melted – taking care not to heat the oil too much so it would retain its medicinal qualities – I added a few drops (around 8) of lavender oil for fragrance and filled four 4 oz. tins.

I left the tins undisturbed for the salve to harden and settle and added labels.

Voila! My first-ever batch of calendula salve.